Happily, Warner Brothers and the filmmakers behind Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore have openly flouted ‘Don’t Say Gay’ absurdities with the third installment of the Fantastic Beasts franchise. Right out of the gate, Dumbledore (Jude Law) and Gridelwald (Mads Mikkelsen) talk about the love and devotion they once had for each other. No one is hit over the …
Leslie Combemale
892 Sundance 2022 AWFJ.org Review
Premiering at Sundance is director Abi Damaris Corbin’s feature film 892, based on the true story of Marine war veteran Brian Easley and the series of events that left him at the brink of homelessness, leading him to walk into a Wells Fargo in Atlanta, declare he had a bomb, and hold two women hostage for …
France AWFJ.org Review
I’ve never wanted so badly for a character to be hit by an asteroid as the lead character played by Lea Seydoux in auteur writer/director Bruno Dumont’s France. The film is meant to be a satire on fame, celebrity, and the blind adulation of news personalities and their takes on the news, and as such, it’s …
Stuntwomen: The Untold Hollywood Story AWFJ.org Review
I’m not sure how much more proof the world needs that women can be total badasses, and yet, based on the sort of continued bias and sexism being discovered and exposed in nearly every crevice of our society, it would seem more. Much, much more. Thank the Amazon goddesses for director April Wright’s new documentary Stuntwomen: …
Tenet AWFJ.org review
Fans of writer/director Christopher Nolan are not strangers to bent time, trippy constructs in physics, or highbrow filmmaking. Being a fan myself, I’ve loved all the elements we’ve grown to expect and enjoy in Nolan movies, beginning with Momento, and reaching its zenith with Interstellar. His new release Tenet has all those, and for a film that, as always …
Bombardier Blood Documentary AWFJ.org review
Chris Bombardier of Bombardier Blood has hemophilia, and he wants to climb Mt. Everest. So? Actually, that’s a really big deal. In the US, hemophiliacs live more or less normal lives, although they have to constantly check they aren’t bleeding on the inside, or cutting themselves in a way that could lead them to bleed …
Vita and Virginia: AWFJ.org review
There is much to love about Vita & Virginia, the new release directed by Chanya Button, and co-written by Button and actress Eileen Atkins. Atkins adapted the story from her successful stage play, in which she starred as famed writer Virginia Woolf opposite Vanessa Redgrave, who portrayed her lover, socialite and intellectual Vita Sackville-West. Much like …
Cinema Siren interviews on the MPAA’s TheCredits.org
The Credits, an arm of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), is a group that facilitates in-depth analyses of what makes film-making great. By partnering with many great writers and interviewers, The Credits provides insightful glimpses into a myriad of subjects and figures within the film industry. As one of these interviewers, Leslie Combemale …
“Women Rocking Hollywood” Panel a Spectacular Success at San Diego Comic-Con 2017!
Women Rocking Hollywood 2017 was Victoria Mahoney, Aurora Guerrero, Tina Mabry, Rosemary Rodriguez, Angela Robinson, Gina Prince-Bythewood, and Kirsten Schaffer. All Hollywood Powerhouses! Such graciousness and talent. It’s incredible to me that at SDCC, in an environment full of famous people and A-listers, I would not trade for anyone within a 5 mile radius, the female …
Building “Bunnicula”: An Interview with WB cartoon producer/director Jessica Borutski
There’s a new show starting tomorrow based on the children’s book series Bunnicula, and it’s a labor of love for producer/director Jessica Borutski. She represents the best of the new guard of female animators, and clearly an inspiring professional in the industry, for having her own show at Warner Brothers TV at only 32! Bunnicula …